Pottering along

I’ve felt lately, and I was feeling a little like this towards the end in China, that being home, i.e. in Britain, for a while would be nice. I miss things, such as being able to communicate freely with everyone (though this is less of a problem here in Spain than it was in China), things I am used to, things being easy.

However, last night I was also reminded of one of the pleasures of travel and living in the different places – meeting new people.

One of the other teachers at the school where I work, an American, invited the other teachers round to his house for dinner. He lives with his Spanish boyfriend in a house they have lived in together for six years. Their house is beautiful – decorated in a really interesting way and really cosy and homely. We had the open fire lit (the weather here has suddenly got cold) and it was nice being in a proper ‘home’ rather than rented accommodation. The meal was also really nice. We had salad with ranch dressing to start, followed by pork tenderloin with vegetables and then orange cake for dessert. I have to admit to eating quite a lot, but it was so tasty and it was really good to have someone else doing the cooking for a change.

It was a very good evening, the only downside being that I got home at about 1 am. Still, no chance to sleep in this morning as some builders were making a lot of noise somewhere nearby.

Still no internet, two weeks after having ordered it…

Something I was puzzling over the other day was the pecking order for bin scavenging. I was watching two people going through one of the big bins on the pavement here. (As many people live in apartments, they bring their rubbish down to the street and leave it in big bins). As I watched them, another person arrived to scavenge through the bin with them, and I wondered, as you do when you’re by yourself and possibly a little bit bored, how it works. Is there some kind of first come first served basis? Do they have to fight it out? Or is it all amicable and friendly. One to ponder… maybe…

On a different note, I had a great long weekend last weekend, cheaply exploring a few places in the immediate area. The next long weekend I plan to travel a bit further afield. This weekend I am taking part in a 10k race to get a time so that I have something to work towards for the next one I’m doing in December. Sadly the course here goes downhill on the way and uphill on the way back. That’s my excuse prepared anyway!